Honestly, DOSBox is a hell of a lot more easier to use than the real DOS. If anything, it's only slightly more complex to run than any other console emulator or even WinUAE. It's a good thing that DOSBox has 3rd party front-ends (like D-Fend Reloaded) being supported, because I highly-doubt that many people being introduced to DOS would enjoy typing in commands to do even the simplest of tasks, compared to using a GUI.

I never use a front-end for DOSBox. Mainly because I grew up with DOS, and so I can easily remember what to type from the back of my head.